As we reflect on our accomplishments of 2016, I thank you for your contributions to making UC San Francisco a beacon of healing and hope.

We all play a part and can take pride in our mission of advancing health worldwide – whether treating patients, uncovering new scientific knowledge, teaching future life sciences leaders or doing the important work that supports these efforts. UCSF is the leading university it is today because of your dedication and drive.

I invite you to read about some of the highlights of 2016 in UCSF’s Year in Review, which includes an interactive timeline of our milestones. View the stories here: http://tiny.ucsf.edu/yearinreview2016

Looking forward to 2017, we have many opportunities ahead to work together and start afresh with renewed energy, creativity and unity.

Our diverse community of more than 24,000 faculty and staff and 4,800 students and trainees is our greatest strength. I challenge each one of us to harness the power of our differences and live our PRIDE values of professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence to further enhance our community and to ensure UCSF’s continued success.

Together, with our friends, alumni, benefactors and partners all over the world who propel us forward, we are redefining what’s possible.

UCSF and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG) are partnering together to build a state-of-the-art research and academic facility that will bring together nearly 800 UCSF clinicians, clinical researchers, staff, and trainees currently dispersed among several existing buildings on the ZSFG campus. The new facility would be designed and built by UCSF and located at ZSFG.

Please join me and other members of the UCSF community in reaching out to the members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to let them know that you support this project and UCSF’s work at ZSFG.

The ZSFG project is scheduled to be heard by the Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday, January 18, and by the entire Board on Tuesday, January 24. The project has been endorsed by the San Francisco Health Commission and the UC Regents. Approval by the Board of Supervisors would allow UCSF to proceed with the design and construction of the research facility.

With the holidays upon us – a time of celebration, appreciation, and grace – there could be no more fitting moment to share this extraordinary news: Bill Bowes, one of the most cherished members of our UCSF family, has pledged a $50 million gift to support early- and mid-career faculty at UCSF.

Bill, like all of you, knows well how powerful and crucial this particular form of support is. Indeed, it is because of the generosity of Bill and others that UCSF is known for identifying talented investigators early in their careers and providing the support they need to allow their scientific imagination to flourish.

Today, with Bill’s help, we have the opportunity to cement our tradition of bringing the best next-generation talent to UCSF and ensuring that these individuals have the resources to pursue their creative best.

The Bowes Biomedical Investigator Program will provide a five-year funding stream to investigators whose research shows unconventional and transdisciplinary approaches to discovery and whose work will have a significant impact. These scientists, while among the most creative, often operate outside historically defined disciplines and are particularly at risk for being overlooked by traditional funding sources.

This wonderful gift is a perfect capstone to Bill’s philanthropic interests at UCSF, which have fostered basic science that cuts across multiple disciplines. As chairman of the Mission Bay Capital Campaign, he catalyzed vital momentum and shepherded us through the building of UCSF’s state-of-the-science campus. He also serves on the Industry Advisory Board of QB3, a joint program with UCSF, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Cruz...